To Save You From Your Old Ways
by Optimist Prime
Summary: Despite his reputation with the ladies, sometimes the infamous James T. Kirk knows how to be a decent guy to a lonely girl. Academy-era. No romance to speak of.
1. Chapter 1

**Author Note:** This is my first Star Trek fic. I just have to throw that out there. And it is not about Kirk falling in love with another original character, not exactly. It's more of a cursory investigation, for my own benefit, that I happened to think might be worth posting.

_I was inspired by the song When You Were Young by The Killers, so I've included a few lines of it in the story. They're not central to the plot, so you can ignore them if you like; they just helped me focus. Hope you enjoy!_

(Fixed some content to make it easier to read.)

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Star Trek, nor would I know what to do with it if I did.

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"_You sit there in your heartache, waiting on some beautiful boy to save you from your old ways…"_

The room was crowded, smoky, noisy. The slender cadet at the bar was reveling in the atmosphere and the anonymity of the dark room. Across the room, a tall blonde man was reveling in the way the cadet's hair fell over her shoulder and her uniform hugged her curves.

"Jim. Jim, hello? McCoy to Kirk, what's it like on your planet?" his friend asked, exasperated. The gruff man finally gave in, following Jim's gaze. He sighed, and the rush of air seemed to momentarily put a stop to the staring. Kirk turned to his companion.

"Come on, Bones. Tell me that isn't one of the most beautiful things you've ever seen," he said teasingly, laughter dancing behind vivid blue eyes as he gestured at the girl.

McCoy reluctantly returned his gaze to the oblivious cadet. He didn't like to admit it, but she was pretty. Willowy, dark-haired, just Jim's type. Then again, all girls were Jim's type. Very few girls were McCoy's type. He grimaced and said, "Let me guess. You're going to go put the moves on that unsuspecting girl, and sweep her off her feet." He tactfully did not add, _"And right onto her back." _He couldn't help but disapprove Jim's irritating habit of leaving his best friend in this whole Academy in favor of sleeping with some girl, and yet he never said the words outright.

Kirk grinned. "Good guess, Bones," he said genially. He clapped his friend on the shoulder on his way past.

--

Perching on her stool at the bar, Nina lifted her glass for another sip, meditating in an unseen bubble of isolation. All the people around her were too absorbed in themselves to pay her any attention, so it was like she was all alone, floating in her own personal galaxy. And housed within that galaxy was a messy relationship that needed some sorting out.

Nina and Patrick had entered Starfleet Academy in the same year and immediately hit it off. They dated all through their first year at school, and just when Nina was getting really attached to the title 'Patrick's girlfriend,' he'd abruptly and rudely told her to hit the road. Well, hell, that hurt a lot, Nina wasn't going to deny it. Now, a day later, she was very quickly learning all about being 'Patrick's _ex_-girlfriend.' It was not a fun experience. She was outraged, disillusioned, but mostly just pained and lonely.

She was handling the whole situation by sitting in a bar, not quite drowning her sadness in alcohol, but at least holding its metaphorical head under for a little while. It sort of helped to be surrounded by people, a hundred walking, drunken distractions.

The inebriates around her also served as an aid in the decision to _not_, in fact, grab the next man who showed an interest and snog him half to death, even though she would like nothing better than to forget that her heart was hurting. The heartbreak was still too fresh for Nina to successfully rationalize a rebound relationship.

Just as that thought entered the girl's head, a man sidled up the rail on her right. "Well, hey, sweetheart," he slurred, focusing on a point slightly to the left of Nina's head. She cast the man a sidelong glance before returning to contemplating the ice floating in her glass. He was alright, she supposed. Tall, broad-shouldered, brown hair in spikes. Academy uniform, but she didn't recognize him--not surprising, considering the size of Starfleet Academy. He was also Exhibit A in Nina's crusade against the rebound boyfriend idea.

"Not interested," Nina said curtly. The man leaned closer.

"How do you know unless you give me a little test drive? I'll show you a real good time."

Ah, the sexual innuendo was alive and well in modern society. Nina smiled cynically into her gin and tonic, taking another sip to cover up her irritation at the stranger. When she set the glass down, she informed him, "I'm waiting for someone. And trust me, handsome, you're not him." The girl wasn't even sure if that was a lie or not. She looked up from under her eyelashes at him, trying to imply with her whole being that there would be violence if he didn't back off.

Unfortunately, the man was just drunk enough to be really thick in the head without being quite hammered enough to fall over. He leaned in even closer, far too close, and Nina could really smell the alcohol on his breath now. "Listen, baby…" he started, but Nina, tiny in comparison, turned to face him fully, regardless of the odor.

She flicked her hair out of her face impatiently and said tersely, "No, you listen, pal. I said I'm wait--"

"There you are, sugar," a smooth voice said by Nina's left shoulder. She felt a hand settle very lightly on her other arm, and the young woman whirled again, finding herself glaring furiously into a rather attractive pair of blue eyes. The newcomer winked discreetly at her, and Nina blinked. Her savior had arrived. How very crafty he was.

She quickly rearranged her features into a convincingly pleasant smile, playing along quite willingly.

"Well, hey, honey!" she exclaimed in feigned surprise, then stretched to land a light peck on her rescuer's cheek before swiveling back to face the drunk in front of her. He looked a little disturbed at the new turn of events, unsure where to go from this point. (It was a little sad that he hadn't believed her when she said she was waiting for someone. Honestly, the lack of respect for women was just disgraceful.)

Nina's knight in shining armor answered the unasked question: "Scamper off."

That seemed to be just about enough. Rapid course correction was clearly not the man's forte. He turned and slumped back to a table full of others, probably to lick his wounds and bolster his ego with a beer. Nina hoped her new best friend could get away before any trouble started, because he would probably be outnumbered and overwhelmed very quickly.

Thinking to warn the newcomer, she turned back to him. The man had taken a seat at the vacant stool on Nina's left and was regarding her with clear-eyed interest, a half-smile tugging at his lips.

"_He doesn't look a thing like Jesus, but he talks like a gentleman, like you imagined when you were young…"_

Nina blinked again and realized that she had no idea what she'd been about to say. Her mouth had turned traitor and completely abandoned her. Luckily, she didn't have to worry about initiating conversation.

"The kiss on the cheek was a nice touch. What would you have done if I hadn't come along and helped you out?" he asked suddenly.

Nina swallowed, found that she could speak again, and replied dryly, "I would have used my charm and wit, and if that failed, erase him from existence. You don't want to know how." She reached for her glass and found it empty, which was disappointing. Frowning, Nina cut her eyes back to her rescuer. "You're Jim Kirk, aren't you?" she asked. He appeared gratified to be recognized so immediately.

"My reputation precedes me, it seems."

"Yep. You're the guy every female cadet in Starfleet has imagined naked," the girl deadpanned, now contemplating the array of bottles on the other side of the bar. She refused, _refused_ to give in to the charming smile--

"Including you?" Jim asked. _Maybe once or twice._ Even though Nina wasn't looking when he asked, she could _hear_ him leering.

She glanced at him sidelong, and at the sight of his eyes trained on her, rebound be damned, the crazy woman in her took over for a split-second and retorted: "Buy me a drink first, sunshine."

Oh, he was beautiful. No wonder girls gave it up to him so easily. The hair, the eyes, the smile--_wait, wait, wait. Remember, you thought Patrick was beautiful too. And look where that got you, all alone and hiding your heart behind a gin and tonic. Don't make promises to a guy who probably knows the layout of the girls' dorms better than you do._

A few moments later, Nina was nursing a beer, watching Kirk through lidded eyes. He didn't seem to mind the scrutiny. In fact, if anything, he thrived under that critical eye.

"So, you seem to know about me. Since all I know about you is that you've got really great legs, it looks like I'm at a bit of a disadvantage," he said, delivering the line with the ease of long practice. Nina raised an eyebrow. _You certainly know how to catch a girl's attention. I know what you want though, and the answer is a firm _no.

"You used that line on my roommate when she caught your eye," the girl observed. Before Kirk had time to respond, she continued, "Nina Channing, second-year cadet, focusing in navigation. Also recently established as a recovering single girl, so I've sworn off men for a while." _So please leave it alone._

She wasn't sure what she'd expected Jim to do, but she was entirely unprepared for the slight softening in his eyes. "Want to talk about it?" he asked. Nina grimaced. _Damn you, I don't want your sympathy._ "Not especially," she responded candidly.

"Was the relationship that bad?" The almost-smile was back.

"No, the relationship was great, while it lasted. My problem starts at the part where he dumped me out of nowhere. Can we please talk about something else?"

"What do you enjoy doing?" He didn't seem to mind changing the subject.

"Jogging, people-watching, traveling," she tossed out. "Do your conversations with girls usually sound like this?"

"Nope. Usually they sound like a lot of flirting, and then they don't sound like much at all. Where have you traveled?" He was fascinated by her glib manner, and the fact that she didn't seem to be at all interested in sex.

"_And sometimes, you close your eyes and see the place where you used to live, when you were young…"_

"I was born here in San Francisco. My parents both work for the Federation, and they traveled a lot when I was a kid, so they took me with them. I've been to Spain, France, Poland, Russia, Australia. Even went off-planet once, when I was really young. Why are you asking me all these questions? From your reputation, I never took you for the type to take an interest in a girl's life."

"I don't know. Because I've never been one to talk sex with a girl who wasn't interested." Nina smirked at that. "Liar." Kirk shrugged, not uncomfortable at being called out.

"It's not that you're not gorgeous," he explained. "It's just that you've got this vibe. I can't explain it." Nina shook her head.

"Try me," she challenged. Jim looked thoughtful, clearly choosing his words carefully.

"Some girls," he began, "are clearly interested in only one thing. Even the ones who don't look like they are, or the ones that just came out of relationships. I can read them--I'm not as dumb as I look." He grinned at the jokingly doubtful look Nina sent his way, then continued, "But some girls are _not _like that. Some girls have more in their heads than fluff, and those ones are kind of interesting." He shrugged once again. "Believe me or don't."

It was a rare display of guileless sincerity on Kirk's part. He wasn't sure why he did it. They talked for a long time, and he always had more questions.

But eventually, Nina could no longer stifle a yawn. She glanced at her watch and said, "I'm not used to being up so late. But talking with you was, dare I say it, fun." She chuckled quietly, for the first time since she and Patrick had split. For some reason, during her conversation with her fellow cadet, some of the hurt had just disappeared.

"_I said he doesn't look a thing like Jesus…"_

"That little nose-wrinkle is cute," he informed her.

Another man approached the pair, older and more world-weary, nodded his acknowledgment to Nina, and turned to Jim. "It's about time to be getting back, Jim," he said in a voice that suggested he was used to giving advice like this, even though his best friend often ignored it.

But to McCoy's surprise, Jim nodded. "Bones, I think you're right. It's been a very interesting night." He stood from his stool and turned to Nina. Faint uncertainty crossed his face for the first time, and he asked, "Could Bones and I walk you back to your dorm? I'm not sure quite how it'll be since sleeping together wasn't in the agenda for tonight, but I'm sure three intelligent students like us can figure out how it should go."

Nina slid from her own stool and regarded the two men curiously. After a moment, she said, "I don't see why not. I'm Nina, by the way." The last part was directed at Kirk's friend.

McCoy nodded stiffly, unsure how to respond to the dynamic that had sprouted between Jim and this girl. He wasn't used to being listened to, or to Jim's girls introducing themselves or doing anything to suggest that they were interested in anything other than sleeping with one James T. Kirk. "Leonard McCoy," he managed after a second.

The walk back to Nina's dorm was quiet, with Nina frequently trying to squash the yawns that bubbled up. She bid them a very polite and pleasant goodnight at her door and expressed the hope that they might see each other on campus. And then she was gone.

"Jim, what the hell was that?" McCoy asked after a moment, deciding that the best way to broach the subject was to be completely open. Jim grinned at his bewildered friend.

"That was an education, Bones," he said. "And it was fun, just talking. Maybe I'll give it another try some time."

"_He doesn't look a thing like Jesus, but more than you'll ever know."_

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Please review! Ciao~


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **Okay. I gave in to the requests of a couple reviewers and wrote a second chapter. And I even went and saw the movie again to refresh the details so I could write this chapter. Still can't guarantee that you'll think it's any good, or that the details will be _right_, but hey, give me points for trying.

In case the issue comes up, I have an idea for one more chapter's worth of content, but I won't bother writing it unless someone shows an interest. Let me know if it would be worth my while.

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Star Trek, nor would I know what to do with it if I did.

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A couple of weeks passed before Jim and Nina crossed paths again. Starfleet Academy had an absolutely monstrous campus full of students all wearing the same uniforms, so it was far from surprising. The surprise was that they even saw each other at all.

Nina was walking with several friends on their way to lunch. Jim caught sight of her before she saw him. He reflected that she was pretty in the sunlight. And she looked almost revitalized--less like a soon-to-be statistic, which was how things seemed the last time he'd seen her.

This Nina, he realized, didn't look the same as the girl he'd met in a bar a few weeks back, the girl he'd talked to without ever issuing an invitation of any kind. He looked away, feeling the same vague uncertainty he'd felt at the end of that night.

She didn't catch sight of Jim until they were passing each other. He was looking the other way, which could mean that either he hadn't seen her, or he'd ignored her. Nina wasn't the kind of girl who worried about unnecessary details like that though. She made a quick decision.

"Jim?" she asked, stopping suddenly and catching his sleeve. She didn't care that her friends didn't realize she wasn't with them and kept on walking. He turned, blue eyes wide and inquisitive. As soon as she let go of his sleeve, he seemed to recognize her.

"It's Nina, right?" he asked. Amazing, he'd remembered her name. Score one for Jim Kirk. The young man grinned dazzlingly when she nodded and tried a slightly shy smile. "How are you?"

"Better than I was last time we saw each othe--"

"Nina?" It was a female voice--Nina's roommate, wondering where her friend had gone. Now all three of the other girls were turned, staring quizzically at the two behind them. At the sight of Jim, all three frowned. Nina caught Jim's sudden grimace out of the corner of her eye and realized that he must have slept with all three of them at some time in the past. It sure was a bitch when stuff like that came back to bite you.

It wasn't exactly unbelievable though. Nina's roommate, Jill, was beautiful, black-haired and porcelain pale. She used to like spending time with any boy who caught her eye. Now she had a boyfriend, and it was hard to separate the two. The other two, Shannon and Molly, were equally pretty, equally fun-loving, equally flaky. Nina seemed to be the token serious girl in the crowd, and also the only one Jim hadn't slept with.

"Hello, _Kirk_," Jill said icily. "Got your eye on Nina now? She'll put you in your place. It'll serve you right too." Clearly there was some bad blood and they were counting on the token serious girl to exact their vengeance. Nina blushed, suddenly illogically guilty, not sure whether to apologize (and if so, to whom?) or just run. Jim was trying to come up with something clever and charming to say, but anybody could see he was at a clear disadvantage, and completely outnumbered.

"Jill, it's not like that," she finally managed. "Jim and I are friends, strictly hands-off."

Shannon sniffed. "Sure," she said skeptically. "The only way that jerk would ever be hands-off was if you _cut_ 'em off at the wrists." She outright glared at him, a look that would have felled a lesser man.

"Whatever," Molly finally spat. "Nina, just meet us at lunch." The three turned and stalked away, clearly commiserating, with many backward glances and threatening scowls. As soon as they were out of earshot, Nina turned back to Jim.

"Do all the girls you sleep with end up feeling like that about you?" she asked curiously. Kirk looked absolutely bewildered.

"No. That was a complete fluke!" he choked out. After a second, he recovered and asked, "Listen, want to walk around a bit before you catch up with your friends? Strictly hands-off?" The last part was a little teasing. Nina smiled and nodded. The pair turned onto a path that she recognized as a roundabout route to the mess hall.

"Do you ever get tired of having to avoid the girls you seduce, just in case it turns out they hate you?" Nina asked after a thoughtful pause.

"Why do you think I like being around you?"

"I assumed it was my charm and good looks, actually." He was pretty sure she was joking.

"Your charm and good looks are a bonus," he admitted. "Truth is, sometimes I try my best to just pretend those girls don't exist."

"Sounds a little cruel. Did you know you're--"

"Kind of an asshole? So I've been told." Jim rubbed the back of his head ruefully. "But the problem is that guys and girls are wired differently. Girls want a relationship. Girls want commitment. Girls want to _talk_. But guys like me, we aren't interested in that type of thing. I can't help it."

"So you can't help alienating girls and breaking their hearts?" Kirk sent a quick glance in Nina's direction. She wasn't looking at him, and her face was expressionless. The only tone in her voice was one of pleasant interest. That was unfair of her, not giving him any hints.

"That's about the size of it, even though you make me sound like a puppy-kicker when you phrase it that way."

Now Nina actually looked at him. He caught her gaze and held it, that clear look he'd worn right after saving her in the bar, when they'd first met. It was near impossible to tell how he really felt, under the layers of casual flirting and bullshit.

When she finally spoke, she said frankly, "Hate to break it to you, stud, but you are a bit of a puppy-kicker. You should try actually talking with a girl before you get her clothes off." As an afterthought, she added blandly, "And if you play the smartass and say something about talking with _me_, I'll rip your arm off and beat you with it."

She didn't look mad, Kirk reflected, but apparently the girl was a little stung. He was guessing she was sympathetic with her girlfriends, and who wouldn't be?

"Not really anything I can say to that," he eventually decided. "But being around you is a learning experience. Maybe you'll change my ways yet." She received another charming grin.

The pair realized at the same moment that they had reached the mess hall. Nina was about to say her goodbyes and go inside when Jim steered her off to the side. She was fairly confident that he wasn't trying to be romantic, not after the conversation they'd just conducted; he seemed to have something on his mind. The girl crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow at him quizzically.

Jim didn't say anything for several seconds. Upon inspection, Nina recognized the knitted eyebrows and slight frown as uncertainty, an unfamiliar expression on the face of James T. Kirk.

"I'm taking the Kobayashi Maru tomorrow," he finally said.

"That's great, but what's it have to do with me?" She had that mask on again, giving him no clues to how she felt.

"I have to say this to somebody. I didn't even tell Bones. I reprogrammed the test," he confessed quietly, all his words spilling out in a rush. The mask fell. Nina looked like she couldn't have been more shocked if the earth opened up and swallowed her right then and there.

When she recovered herself enough, Nina choked out, "You did _what_?" Kirk quickly _shush_ed her, and she continued in a vehement hiss, "Cheating like that could get you kicked out of the Academy! What were you thinking?"

"I've taken the Kobayashi Maru twice before, and it's literally impossible to pass. The computer itself is cheating, and if the computer can, then why not me?" he murmured. He wasn't smiling, but his eyes danced mischievously. Damn him, he was _enjoying_ this!

"But why are you telling me? We barely even know each other."

"I don't know. I guess I trust you not to rat me out." Now that smile was back, full of charm and cleverness. It was a smile that could convince the unsuspecting to attempt to walk on water. Nina tried not to notice, because she had the disturbing feeling that, if she did, she'd be among the first to jump in the drink.

"I can't believe you're risking those consequences. I mean, there's a reason they're called no-win scenarios. James T. Kirk, you are out of your mind."

The smile widened. "Thank you, but I don't believe in no-win scenarios," he said sincerely. Then he looked at his watch and said, like nothing had happened, "I gotta go. Listen, Nina, it was good to talk with you again. See you around!" And then he was gone, leaving the stunned cadet to stare after him. With a sigh, she turned and entered the mess hall, bidding a silent and resigned farewell to Jim Kirk, sure she'd never 'see him around' again.

For the rest of the day, Nina was a wreck. Her last conversation with Jim kept running through her mind. It was exactly like when she'd returned to her dorm after that night at the bar. Somehow, he got inside her head, and he _wouldn't leave her alone_. Nina had tried to puzzle it out, but to no avail.

Of course, no matter how much the girl tried to deny it--and she tried awfully hard--she did find Jim attractive. But she was self-aware enough to admit that she was _not_ the kind of girl who could rationalize sleeping with him. So there had to be something else, some other reason.

Think as she might, though, Nina came up empty. He was an absolute enigma.

The next morning found the cadet slumped at her desk. Unable to sleep, she'd decided to catch up on some work from her (required but not enjoyable) xenolinguistics class. At about three in the morning, the girl had dropped off. At seven, she woke up and experienced a moment of panic to find her face stuck to her desk. Nina was not a morning person on the best of days, and after a restless night like the one she'd just had, she could only be described as spastic.

Once lucid thought returned, she unstuck her face and jumped in the shower. The cadet's mind was still on Jim Kirk, but she had an eight o'clock physics class to attend, so she tried to focus.

Physics was a disaster. Nina escaped as soon as the class ended and didn't hear the gossip until she stepped outside to clear her head a few minutes later.

"Did you hear about…"

"…Kobayashi Maru…have you heard…"

"…Jim Kirk…hearing at noon…"

In these circumstances, a hearing could only mean that some bright young thing had noticed an anomaly in the programming and called Kirk's bluff. Nina glanced at her watch: just after eleven o'clock. She did some mental math and decided to arrive at the 'court' early.

It turned out that arriving early was a good idea. A lot of people wanted to hear about the events of the Kobayashi Maru. Nina slipped into the crowd and claimed a seat in the back of the room. It was set up amphitheater-style, with tiered rows of seats. She could clearly see the line of officials on the dais in the center of the room, and none of them looked happy.

_I sure hope you know what you're doing, wonder boy._

She watched with teeth clenched as Jim was called forward and said calmly, "I believe I have the right to face my accuser." Another man stepped forward; Nina recognized Commander Spock, the advanced xenolinguistics instructor. Since she was taking only the necessary basic class, Nina would never have him as a teacher. However, she'd heard of his reputation, and Kirk still had a tough fight ahead of him.

But he seemed to hold his own, up until a man came in with a PADD and handed it to the man running the show. Nina wasn't even sure who he was. But he announced that Starfleet had received a distress signal from Vulcan, and all cadets were to be assigned to their ships. Nina rushed out the door, not wanting to get caught in the crush.

Inside the shuttle hangar, controlled chaos was the order of the day. People rushed everywhere, all trying to reach their shuttles and save the world. Nina was part of the clutter, but she caught sight of a familiar face and moved toward it.

"Jim!" she called, trying to be heard over the dull roar. He turned at the sound of his name, and Nina immediately noticed the lost look in his eyes.

"I'm suspended," he informed her, for once without his air of cocky self-assurance. Nina shook her head.

"I'd say I told you so, but I don't have the heart," she said morosely. "I've been assigned to the Yorktown, so I have to report there. But Jim, listen to me." She gripped his chin and looked him in the eye. "Be careful while I'm gone, do you understand? I still have to teach you how to be a decent human being, so that means you have to be alive the next time I see you." Kirk managed a smile at that.

"You be careful too, Nina," he said. The girl looked on the verge of inexplicable tears. She drew him into an impulsive hug, and when she backed away, McCoy was standing nearby.

"Bones, what are you doing?" Kirk asked. The doctor looked weary and irritated already, but Nina suspected that might be his ground state of being.

"Helping you out," McCoy replied gruffly. He grabbed Jim by the arm, and made as if to drag him away. But before they got too far, Nina tapped the older man on the shoulder.

"Doctor McCoy, I expect you to take very good care of him, and of yourself," she informed the man. He looked a little unsettled. This was something else that Jim's girls never did. They were never introduced, they never remembered his name, and they never expressed any interest in anyone's wellbeing but their own. They also never made a repeat appearance, and yet this one was incredibly familiar.

"Yes ma'am, I'll try," he replied seriously. The girl smiled slightly, saluted, and then turned and disappeared in the crowd. As McCoy dragged his best friend in the opposite direction, toward the hangar's impromptu infirmary, he said, "I get the feeling we've been in a situation a bit like this before, but I have to ask: Jim, what the hell was that?"

Jim just smiled, not appearing to hear the doctor at all. "I don't think any girl has ever told me to be careful and meant it," he said. "And she said she had to teach me how to be a decent human being." Bones simply snorted.

"Well, good luck to her, I've been trying for three years," he said. "Now then, get a move on. The shuttles are leaving soon, and I'll be damned if we're not both on board when they do."

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Please review! Ciao~


	3. Chapter 3

**Author Note: **Well, I finally managed to get that last chapter done. (Hooray…?) Sorry it took so long; I had a hard time coming up with a way for the story to end that wasn't romantic. (Well, at least I hope it's not…give me opinions on that front.)

Anyway, thanks for bearing with me through the chaos that is my writing experience, everyone. Hope you enjoy this last chapter!

**Disclaimer: **I don't own Star Trek, nor would I know what to do with it if I did.

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The USS Yorktown was a beautiful ship. But she was on the older side, not as sleek and advanced as a ship like the Enterprise. So the Yorktown would be staying in the Laurentian system, playing the waiting game. Meanwhile, Starfleet's seven best ships went to investigate, if the rumors were to be believed, a lightning storm in space.

While they waited for news from the others, Nina sat with several of her fellow cadets, including Jill, her roommate, receiving a crash course in anything and everything. Their impromptu teacher was a senior communications officer who did his job efficiently, but without real enthusiasm.

"Here is the engineering deck," he said, pointing at a map of the Yorktown. "Here is cargo. Here is the sickbay, the mess hall, the transporter room." Point, point, point. "The bridge, of course, is here…" He trailed off as his attention was caught by a voice coming over the intercom.

"Attention, crew of the Yorktown. This is Captain Sharp speaking. We are receiving transmissions from Starfleet Headquarters." The whole deck fell silent at this proclamation. The captain sounded shaken as he continued, "Of the seven ships sent to investigate the anomaly near Vulcan, six have been destroyed. And Vulcan itself…is gone. Vulcan has been annihilated."

A collective gasp flew up from the entire deck. Nina's hand flew to cover her mouth. She distantly felt Jill's fingers dig into her sleeve. She knew people on every one of those seven ships. It wasn't possible that they were gone. The idea of those people never coming home--

"Shannon was on the Farragut," Jill whispered. "Molly was on the Enterprise." The slightest of whimpers slipped through Nina's fingers.

"Which ship made it?" she breathed. She almost didn't want to know. Nobody answered anyway. The room, after the initial shock, fell silent, aside from a sob somewhere near the door.

After a moment, Captain Sharp continued, "Until we receive further instructions, all crew members to their battle stations. Sharp out." The entire crew was shell-shocked, but they did as they were told. It was their job.

Nina reflected vaguely as she took a seat at her station that it was like being on a ship full of zombies. Aside from periodic updates from Sharp, who believed that his crew had the right to know what was happening, nobody spoke past what was necessary to perform their jobs. Everybody looked distant, wrapped up in their own thoughts, far away on a planet that would never see another sunrise, on a ship that would never take another voyage.

After a longer than normal pause, the captain's voice sounded over the com again. The crew froze, afraid of what might be coming now.

"Attention, crew. We have just received news from headquarters. The USS Enterprise, captained by James T. Kirk, has destroyed the enemy's ship in a daring raid, and there is no sign that the enemy may have had reinforcements. Ladies and gentlemen, we're going home."

The crew relaxed. Some even cheered. Nina couldn't quite understand how Kirk went from a cheater on academic suspension to a captain, but she was proud of him. Jill wove through the crush of happy people to practically tackle her roommate. Of course, when they got back to Earth, the dead would be counted, mourned, remembered.

Still, it was good to have something to be happy about.

--

"Sir, I relieve you," said newly-made-Captain Kirk.

"I am relieved," Pike replied with a smile.

Nina watched James T. Kirk's promotion with a smile on her face, but she chose not to stick around at the end. He apparently didn't need her how-to-be-a-good-person lessons any more, and besides, plenty of people had approached to clap him on the back and offer their congratulations. She'd just get lost in the crowd.

So the cadet returned to her dorm, which was thankfully deserted. It seemed as though there had been people in the room every second since the fleet had returned: Jill, Jill's boyfriend, Molly, numerous other cadets. Nina had never been more popular than when she wanted to be left alone.

Now she stepped into the room, slid off her boots, and flopped over on her bed.

It was too bright.

"Lights," she sighed, and the artificial light faded. A little late afternoon sun filtered in through the window blinds. She stared up at the ceiling and--

_Knock, knock._

"Damn it," Nina muttered. She propped herself up on an elbow and called, "Who is it?"

"This is Captain James Tiberius Kirk. I'm looking for Nina." Silence. "Do I have the right room? Hello?"

Nina stared blankly at her ceiling, her mouth hanging slightly open. She forgot to breathe for a minute. He'd come to see her. Jim Kirk. The hotshot captain who probably had a line of girls a mile long that wanted to sleep with him. What was going on here?

"Alright, guess not then," Nina heard Jim say. Footsteps moved away from her door, down the hallway. _What the hell are you waiting for?_ Nina practically flew to the door. She wished it would slide open faster.

"How come you're not out celebrating?" the cadet asked Jim's retreating back. He stopped, about ten feet down the hall. The young man was already smiling when he turned around.

"I worried I didn't have the right room," he said, ignoring the question. "I mean, I was _slightly_ drunk when Bones and I walked you back that one night, and it _was_ a few weeks ago. So I went and asked your roommate, and she made a _very_ rude suggestion to me. And then I asked your friend Molly, because now I'm her captain, and anyway, she likes me a lot better since we worked together. And here I am." Kirk spread his hands wide as if to indicate that the universe worked in strange ways. Nina hid a smile.

"That's cheating, you know."

"Cheating was what got me made captain," he retorted, without a hint of remorse. "But maybe when you're teaching me how to be a decent person, you can cure me of my bad habits. Say, this evening?"

Nina teased, "I didn't figure you needed lessons on being decent any more, what with that whole thing where you saved billions of lives. I did figure that you'd be out buying shots for a bar full of strangers though."

"Bite your tongue," Jim replied with a hint of a laugh. He ambled back toward Nina with his hands in his pockets. "After the crazy day I just had, I need a _quiet_ night out. Plus, you're the only lady I can think of, besides my communications officer, who isn't interested in getting me naked."

"A girl would have to be dead not to be interested," Nina replied dryly, before her brain could stop her mouth from saying it. She tried to cover her slip-up by adding, "But I understand your point, and I'm willing to trade favors with you: You buy my drinks, I'll guard you from floozies."

"Deal," Jim replied. He offered her his arm in an uncharacteristic and exaggerated display of chivalry. It made his unofficial bodyguard grin.

"Hold that thought; I need shoes," she said. She slipped into and out of her room as quickly as possible, taking only a moment to adjust her boots and check her hair in the mirror on the wall. Outside, she hooked her arm through Jim's, and the pair set off.

"So," Jim began when they reached the end of the hallway. "A girl would have to be dead not to be interested, huh?" Nina rolled her eyes. Stupid, traitorous mouth.

"Sunshine, it wasn't an invitation. I'm still not planning on sleeping with you."

"Are you hung up on that what's-his-name? Peter, Paul--"

"Patrick. And no, I'm not hung up on him. There are other reasons a girl might not sleep with you." She was trying to evade the issue. Nina wished she could steer the conversation anywhere but here. And yet, even as she prayed for it, she knew Kirk had a way of laughing in the face of tact. He had elevated asking uncomfortable questions to an art form.

"Such as? Just give me a hypothetical here," Jim said lightly, tilting his head and glancing at Nina. He wasn't sure why he pressed the issue, except that he was curious. Ever since the first night he'd known her, it seemed like Nina only ever backed away from the discussion of her own relationship choices.

"Such as, a girl might hate herself for it the morning after. A girl might not want you to avoid her forever, because she might think you're interesting and intelligent, even though you act like a fool," Nina replied seriously. She realized for the first time how tired she was; the sight of Jim at her door had given the girl a shot of adrenaline, but that was ebbing, leaving her more weary and less tactful than she'd been before.

"You don't want to be hurt again," he guessed. Nina was clever and hid her emotions well enough, but he remembered the sight of her that night in the bar--too busy trying to figure out what went wrong to mind the expression on her face. She was vulnerable. And he'd put his libido on hold so that he could…save her? Bones called it a hero complex and said that Kirk had one big time.

"Can we please talk about something else?" Nina asked, not sure if she liked how easily Jim read her. He obediently changed the subject to something benign and pointless until they arrived at a pub that looked just obscure enough to be harmless.

"There's a table in the corner there," Jim pointed out. Nina followed his gaze and smiled. The table he referred to was almost entirely shadowed, and therefore practically invisible.

"You weren't kidding when you said you wanted quiet," she teased. "If you'll go save it, I'll bring back drinks. That way you can stay incognito."

Nina figured she was away from Jim's side for maybe five minutes, seven at the very most. And somehow, even when he was sitting in the darkest corner of the pub, he managed to attract a woman. _It's like devil magic_. Nina was astonished. She hovered at the bar for a moment, watching the situation from across the room.

The girl was attractive, in that artificial way of shallow girls everywhere. Tall, blonde, wearing an outfit that left little to the imagination, and high heels that must have been painful to walk on. Her intentions were clear. Jim, on the other hand, was not so easy to read. As soon as the blonde girl started talking, the easy-going smile he'd been wearing slid away like oil on water, leaving behind a nonchalant mask to match his slouched posture. He said something to the newcomer, not loud enough for Nina to hear it across the room. But clearly it wasn't a dismissal, because the girl slid into Nina's seat.

That was all the dark-haired young woman needed. She took the two drinks she'd come to the bar to order and made her way across the room. Her eyes never left Kirk, and Kirk's slightly narrowed eyes never left the blonde. So it was a real surprise to both of the people sitting at the table when Nina placed the drinks on the table and then gave Jim a light peck on the cheek, sending out as many girlfriend signals as possible to drive the blonde away.

"There you are, sugar," she purred, trying to decide whose head she wanted to pour her drink on more. "I'm gone for a couple minutes and you feel the need to replace me? Though you made a poor choice." She sent the newcomer a sidelong glare, then addressed her: "You're in my seat, and I can think of five ways to move you out of my chair and into a hospital without breaking a sweat. Scamper off."

The disgruntled blonde stood and beat a fast retreat to the other side of the pub, allowing Nina to reclaim her chair and take a sip from her glass while she waited for her pulse to settle down. She steadfastly avoided Jim's gaze until he spoke.

"I feel like we've done this before."

Now Nina looked him in the eye, and there was the barest hint of a smile hovering around his lips. Instead of rising to the bait, she said, "Decent person lesson number one: Do not let another girl sit in your date's seat. Especially not a--" She swallowed the words she'd been about to say, which were 'dirty pirate hooker,' and finished lamely-- "tramp like that one. It makes your date feel like she's not as high on your priority list as a nameless pair of boobs and a bad dye job."

"Actually," Kirk interjected, "She told me her name was Christine."

"Decent person lesson numbers two and three: Do not remember the interloper's name, and do not challenge your date with regards to other girls. That will only serve to make her feel even less important, which will in turn increase her desire to pour her drink on your head rather than date you again, or even, god forbid, sleep with you."

"You've got a lot of rules," Kirk laughed

"And you've got a lot to learn," Nina retorted, trying to breathe deeply. The captain sat forward in his seat.

"Nina, are you jealous of that girl?" he asked, disbelief mixing with another laugh. Nina frowned.

"You're saying that if I left this table right now and started coming on to…" She looked around the room, before deciding, "that guy right over there, you wouldn't be a little peeved, _Captain_?" Jim didn't miss the fact that she used his title rather than his name.

"Fair enough. You're right, I do have a lot to learn. But I'm not the only one that does." Kirk looked Nina in the eye, that familiar smile still on his face. "Even if I'm not honest all the time, I _will_ be honest with you, and I promise not to replace you with a nameless pair of boobs and a bad dye job. For one thing, the conversation wouldn't be nearly as interesting."

Nina blinked. That had sounded oddly sincere, except for the last comment. Then, she smiled. "Looks like we've reached an understanding then, Jim."

They talked a while longer, a throwback to the night they'd met, and at the end of the evening, Jim walked Nina back to her room. At her door, he said, "The Enterprise has to resume her duties in a few days. I'm guessing the Yorktown does too. But…how about lunch…tomorrow, maybe? I need to get in as many decent person lessons as possible before I go off to represent the Federation."

He looked almost at ease, but Nina could still just barely see the unsure look, the one that said he wasn't sure he was doing it right, but he'd give it his best shot anyway. She thought it over, and then she smiled.

"I'd love to."

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Thank you for reading. Please review! Ciao~


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